Some information in today's newsletter from moneysavingexpert.com about the new pound coins and £5 banknotes....

"The new 12-sided £1 coin is being rolled out next month, and the current round version will stop being legal tender (and so won’t be accepted in shops) on 15 October 2017. After that, if you still have any old £1 coins, you won’t be able to spend them....Many banks and building societies have told us they will continue to accept the old pound coin even after 15 October. But all those we asked, including Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds/Bank of Scotland, Nationwide, RBS and Santander, said they’d only do this for their own customers."

"The shiny new plastic fivers are already in circulation, and the older, larger fiver is leaving us even sooner than the pound – the withdrawal date’s set for 5 May. Now technically, unlike the pound coin, the £5 banknote is produced by the Bank of England and not the Royal Mint. This means that, even after it’s been scrapped, the old fiver is covered by what’s effectively a Bank of England ‘buy back guarantee’ – old banknotes officially hold their face value “for all time”. That means if you’re stuck with an old fiver after 5 May, you can still exchange it at face value with the Bank of England in London, in person or by post (at your own risk). What’s more, while they’re under no obligation to do so, many banks and building societies say they will accept the old fivers from their own customers."LINK

May I recommend Rubens apples. Just got some from Tesco, and it quite the most flavoursome apple I've had since last year's Coxes. I read the label (of course) expecting it to be from Chile or some such, but found it was gown in East Kent by one Simon Mount, and is quite famous in growing circles, which is a bonus.

My recommendation - before buying from Amazon or Ebay have a look online for any small businesses selling what you want. They may even be local to you. I often find them selling cheaper than the big web sites and giving a more personal service. You can find yourself communicating directly with the man or woman running the business and they're more polite and provide full street addresses rather than hiding behind only a web address.

The cafe sounds a bit like the good old days when you could pop in for a pie or fish & chips and it didn't matter what you were wearing and it was cheap too. Also reminds me of Prague in the communist days where you could go to a big communal cafe for a filling hot meal of soup, dumplings and stew, all washed down with good lager while sitting at long wooden tables. Shop owners in suits sitting next to labourers in overalls. Again, all very cheap.

Post communist days and the cafe is still going strong. It was there when we went to Prague a few years ago. I think it was somewhere around the equivalent of about £3 for two beers and two bowls of potato and dumpling stew with a chunk of bread each, a proper lunch. Doubt that it ever needs to change, they still had the long tables and benches, we went twice during our stay.

I never guessed I'd meet anyone else who'd been to it (or to one of them if there are more than one). It's a small world. I also went to a small restaurant in a basement that was frequented by Czechs who had been aristocrats and intellectuals before the communist takeover. Had dinner with a couple who had been booted out of their country home with only what they and their family could take with them on a horse and cart. He was a scientist and friend of the director of the British research centre where I worked at the time and that's how I got invited. The director used to drive to Czechoslovakia in his Daimler Sovereign to holiday with the family and the car always caused a stir and much interest in and around Prague! Coincidentally, when later Mrs Tiz and I bought an old Daimler Sovereign as a classic car (described elsewhere on OG) it was the same model in the same colour and had one previous owner, a man who worked in `the City' and only used the car to go on holiday in Greece.

In the days when I was on the tramp and one of my bases was Glasgow I often had a meal in the British Restaurant on Clyde Street. They were started during the war and on the same lines as the Prague offering but no booze! (LINK)

Stanley Challenger Graham
Stanley's View
scg1936 at talktalk.net

"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!

I already had a gumtree Hudl tablet, and in theory this isn't as quick, but I find this a lot better. It's also an experiment to escape the clutches of Google. Seems to be working at the moment, but you can't get into it unless you register with Amazon. Their clutches seem to be easier to avoid though. Supports an enormous SD card so should be good for pictures and videos. When I think back to what I've paid for gadgets over the years - this one is amazing.

Actually, the whisky is quite acceptable if you take a very small sip and let it wander round in your mouth. Very smooth, no bite at the back of the throat and you get all the flavours and keynotes. I usually do the sip and then drink the rest diluted with tap water, that way you get the best of both worlds.

Stanley Challenger Graham
Stanley's View
scg1936 at talktalk.net

"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!